


A Lesson in Balance

by Owl94



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Healthy Relationships, Lemon, Making Love, Marriage, Masturbation, Personal Growth, Relationship Problems, Romance, newlyweds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:00:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8990578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owl94/pseuds/Owl94
Summary: After overhearing a not so flattering conversation between Katara, Toph, and Suki after his wedding to Katara, Aang is thrown completely off balance. He has to learn to bring the lessons of the elements into his marriage. Romantic lemon.





	

            Aang lay in the unfamiliar bed and stared at the ceiling. It was the first night in years he had slept so fully alone. It was the first time in a month that he was spending a night away from his wife.

            _Katara_. Aang’s entire self ached for her so badly it felt like a mantra humming through his entire being. _Katara_.  His arms felt empty without her warm sleeping body tucked in them. _Katara_.  The world felt silent without her gentle rhythmic breathing. _Katara._ He felt lost, disconnected from the world. He was so used to feeling Katara’s warm breath against his skin, be it his forearm or his chest, even his face on occasion, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was this constant reminder of how alive she was, how alive he was, that he was breathing the same air as every other person in the world.

            Objectively, Aang knew that he shouldn’t feel this lost without his wife. In fact, he knew that it meant his Chakras were out of alignment, but he couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed and meditate. He wasn’t ready to face whatever was blocking him. He was afraid of what he would find if he really tried. He already knew the real thing that was bothering him, the reason why he had not asked Katara to come with him to Ba Sing Se. The foundry fire had just been an excuse. His reasoning had made sense, Katara was a water bender and a roaring fire in a town in the middle of the Fire Nation could definitely use her skills. But he could have used her skills to deal with Earth Nationalists too. Katara was so loving, so wholly able to see the good in people, she might have been even better suited for this mission than Aang. Maybe he should have gone to the Fire Nation… Too late now. He was already in Ba Sing Se. He was going to have to deal with the Earth Nationalist rally the next morning. Katara was not with him and for the first time in a very long time Aang had no idea how to handle things, and no desire to figure them out.

            The reality of his emotional state was hard for Aang to admit to himself. His biggest fear in life was an inability to handle the responsibilities of being a person, let alone being the Avatar. Even now, after having officially saved the world and ended the 100 Years War, fully accepting and learning about his Avatar powers, and perhaps most importantly marrying the love of his life he wanted to run away. He felt unable to handle his life, as wonderful as it was. He had been struggling with this for a few weeks now. He felt like he was failing Katara as a husband and it was crippling him in every other area of his life. Aang had saved the world for Katara. Katara was his world, his motivation, his connection to this confusing life. Now he finally had her, officially, forever, and he was letting her down. And if he was letting down Katara, that meant he would let down the world. He didn’t need to argue out the logic with himself, he knew it wasn’t sound and it didn’t matter. It was what he felt, deep in the core of his being and it was eating him alive.

 

            “Good morning General Iroh,” Aang greeted his longtime friend with a perfect bow. It was still early in the morning, the sun had just risen and Iroh’s tea shop smelled floral and earthy and felt warm and homey as usual. It was disconcerting to see the damage that had been done to it in the past week. The beautiful front windows had both been broken and were now covered with tarps. There were less tables than usual, two of them had not survived the attack. The broken dishes had been cleaned up but Aang could see that the shelves now displayed a bizarre collection of mismatched cups, mugs, saucers, and tea accessories. It was a far cry from the homey elegance that Iroh had so carefully curated. Perhaps most jarring though, was the desecrated dragon mural, the one Zuko had surprised his Uncle with commissioning for his birthday the past year. Where once a full wall of the tea shop had beautifully rendered a red and blue dragon entwined in a fiery rainbow, a subtle nod from Zuko to he and his Uncle’s experience with the last dragons, now there was not even much of a wall to speak of. Again, a tarp hid the fact that most of the wall had been completely destroyed. _Good thing that wasn’t loadbearing_.

            “Ah! Avatar Aang! It is good to see you! I did not realize you were coming to Ba Sing Se, if I had known I would have prepared a special brew for you!” Iroh beamed at the young Avatar. Avatar felt like he could feel Iroh’s joy radiating off him as literal heat. It was hard to believe that Iroh’s tea shop had been raided and almost completely destroyed just a few days ago. He didn’t look any different than the last time Aang had visited the shop, despite the fact that his pride and joy was crumbling around him.

            “I came as soon as I heard about the Earth Nationalists and what they did to your shop,” Aang replied, gesturing to the wreckage around them.

            Iroh walked over to the first table with two empty tea cups effortless balanced in his left hand and a steaming tea kettle in his left. He diligently prepared tea for himself and did not even look up to acknowledge Aang’s comment. “Yes, that was an unfortunate turn of events, but no one was hurt and people have been so kind.”

            Aang sat across from Iroh and accepted the tea he was offered. It was sweet and thick, tasting of cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, and a touch of heavy cream. A nontraditional drink to be sure, but one of Aang’s favorites, and one of Iroh’s specialties.

            “Did you see all my new dishes?” Iroh continued.

            Aang glanced over at the shelf of hideous cups again. “Uh, yes, I noticed.”

            “Those were brought to me by customers and friends, even some strangers who had never been to the shop before but heard what happened and wanted to help. Those are the personal cups and dishes and tea sets of the people of Ba Sing Se and they gave them to me, to The Jasmine Dragon, to show that we are a part of this community and they want us to stay.” Iroh brushed a tear away from his eye. It made Aang smile a little, partially because the story was heartwarming, but mainly because he loved how genuine (and dramatic) Iroh was.

            “I am glad there are still people in the city that are committed to caring about the people around them, but that does not mean we can ignore the real threat the Earth Nationalists are posing to the balance of this community, and the world.”

            Iroh shrugged. “They are just scared. Scared that the changing world means no place for them anymore.”

            “Their fear does not give them the right to terrorize other people.”

            Iroh took a long drink of his tea. “No, it doesn’t. But you must understand, those motivated by fear are very different than those motivated by power.”

            Aang thought about his night spent awake, terrified that his marriage was failing. “Trust me, I know.”

 

            “You’d think the Fire Nation would have learned to only build in areas that _aren’t_ flammable,” Katara grumbled. Her face and arms were smeared with sooty mud. She had been helping to contain the largest fire Katara had ever seen for a whole day now. The fire had begun in the foundry, one of the largest ones where the Fire Nation had assembled their tanks during the war. Something had happened when they were dissembling the foundry and the whole building had caught on fire. Then the fire had spread, to the neighboring town, to the fields of tall grass beyond, and finally into the forest. The fire was enormous. Acres of land were destroyed. Two whole towns had already succumbed to the raging flames.

            “The whole point of fire bending is control, it never should have gotten this bad,” Zuko replied, even though he knew Katara was not talking to him.

            “Well, it did.”

            Zuko sighed in frustration. He was also a little sooty. “Yes, it did.”

            “You had all those waterbenders in prison for years, why didn’t you put them around your foundries to prevent fires?”

            Zuko looked at Katara as if she had just revealed some arcane secret. “That’s…brilliant. Why didn’t we do that?”

            Katara glared at him. “Because the Fire Nation didn’t exactly value the gifts of their prisoners.”

            Zuko raised his palms in defeat. “Hey, don’t blame me for the past. I just inherited these problems.”

            Katara sighed, trying to steel herself. “I know. I’m sorry, this is just…overwhelming. I’ve never seen a fire like this before. It’s terrifying.”

             “Uncontrolled fire is one the most destructive and unstoppable forces in the world. It’s incredible in its power, and awful in its need to consume everything in its path.” He paused and glanced over at Katara who was rinsing her arms in the river as the two of them waited for the cart full of water barrels to be reloaded. “This must be hard for you. Since you’re a waterbender and all…Even I’m bothered by all this fire, I can only imagine what it’s doing to you.”

            Katara nodded. “I’m so scared.”

            “You’re really out of your element.”

            Katara glared at Zuko’s feeble attempt at humor.

            “Sorry. Too soon.”

            Katara gave him a genuine smile. “No, it’s ok. I appreciate the attempt.”

            “Now that I don’t have Sokka around I have been trying to work on my humor. People have told me I’m not very…personable.”

            Katara let out a loud burst of laughter. Zuko glared at her and she did her best to regain her composure, but a smile remained on her face. “Oh really? I can’t imagine why people would say that.”

            “Fire Lord Zuko, the cart is ready,” a young soldier announced, giving Zuko a stiff bow.

            With visible fatigue Katara walked away from the river and towards the cart. She and Zuko sat together in the back with the water as the driver took them back towards the blaze.

            As the cart rolled on Katara began to cry silently. Zuko looked over at her nervously, very unsure of how to handle the situation. He silently thanked the spirits that Mai was not particularly emotional, he knew he wouldn’t be able to be there for her if she was and that would have been horrible for him.

            “Uhh…do you want to stay behind? You can fill jugs for a while. Or rest. Or something.”

            Katara wiped at her nose. “No. I’m fine. It’s just, this is my first time doing something like this without Aang in…years. I didn’t realize how hard it would be not to have him around.”

            Zuko looked towards the orange sky in the distance. “Yeah…It would be nice to have some Avatar magic on our side right now.” The both sat silently looking at the blaze with a fearful reverence that is reserved for such acts of nature. “I’m glad he’s with my Uncle though.”

            Katara looked over at him and saw the emotion on his face. Zuko wanted his people to know he was committed to them, not only in word but in deed, so he was here fighting this fire, but she knew he wanted to be with his Uncle. Iroh had insisted he didn’t need help but she knew he was worried. Katara was worried too. She squeezed his arm gently to reassure him. “I am too. I’m sure he will take care of those Earth Nationalists. He is a monk after all, he knows all about creating peace.”

 

            “The Avatar did not _save_ Ba Sing Se! He and his friends are trying to _destroy_ our communities. Our way of life!” Hiresh paused for the crowd to cheer him on. “Thanks to the Avatar and his vision for the future, one that he came up with help from this good friend _the new Fire Lord_ we are supposed to forget our Earth Nation Identity! We are supposed to accept _other benders_ into our community, become _one nation_. _One nation!_ Why should we sacrifice our Earth Nation identity, our _culture_ , our _history_ , for these people? For this freak of nature and his fire bending friends who wreaked havoc on the world and destroyed our city’s magnificent walls!” Another cheer went up. Mentioning the walls almost always got a cheer from the crowd. “The Avatar is _unnatural_ and the world has let them exist amongst us for far too long! The Elements are _separate_. Nature has made them separate for a reason! Why should we mess with the plan of the Spirits?” Another cheer went up.

            Aang groaned. He had heard enough. This wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as he had hoped. There were at least three hundred people gathered around Hiresh listening to his hate. Hiresh’s audience had grown significantly after he publicly denounced the Jasmine Dragon and Iroh. He had whipped people into a frenzy about Iroh’s role in the war in the past, told them that firebenders could not be trusted and should not be allowed in the community. Then he, and a handful of his followers had destroyed Iroh’s shop. Or at least, as much as they could before Iroh and his loyal customers, many of whom were also earthbenders, had driven them out. Still, his message had been sent and people weren’t just listening, they were believing it. If left unchecked Aang wouldn’t be surprised if Hiresh would be able gather himself a significant army. In fact, judging by the size of his crowd, maybe he already had.

            Aang signaled to the two young soldiers he had set out with and they nodded. Bhadra and Girish began to part the sea of people that was crowded around the crude stage Hiresh had earthbent for himself.

            Girish made it to the stage first and easily jumped onto it. “Show’s over everybody!” His voice was commanding and unwavering, but with none of the drama of Hiresh’s fiery oratory. It was a calm but decisive tone. _Someone has mastered neutral jing._

            Unfortunately, the same could not be said about Hiresh. This interruption only motivated him further. Somehow he managed to speak even louder than he had before. “You see! You see what is happening! Our own army is turning against us! They are all puppets for the Avatar! I’m sure he told them to come here and end this! _They want to end the long beautiful history of Earth people! They want us to ignore our past and our pride_ —“ Mercifully, Bhadra bent a stone around Hiresh’s mouth, shutting him up before he could continue. People booed as Bhadra and Girish escorted Hiresh away, but they began to disperse which was enough for the moment.

 Aang rubbed his temples in frustration. He was glad that he had the Earth soldiers there to be the public face for the moment. He hadn’t realized how much of Hiresh’s hateful rhetoric was centered on making him the bad guy. Even Aang could acknowledge the irony that he really _was_ in the city to stop Hiresh. It was disheartening to see how many people were believing Hiresh’s ignorance but he reminded himself that all of this, at least for the people gathered, was about fear. Fear of what they might lose. They would have hated anyone if it meant they would feel safe again. After hating the Fire Nation for so long, for good reason, they were struggling to imagine a more united world. Afraid they would lose their culture, their great cities, their beautiful architecture, the bed time stories their mothers told them and that they wanted to tell their children. Aang knew how they felt. He had lost his people. His culture. Absentmindedly Aang fiddled with his prayer beads. He was suddenly overcome with a wave of grief for his people, his culture, his friends and teachers. Yes, Aang understood these people’s fears, more than they ever would. _Maybe it’s a good thing I sent Katara to the fire after all._  

 

Katara took a deep breath and looked at the wall of flames in front of her. She could feel the heat. Hear the roar. She ignored it and continued to breathe deep into her stomach. She breathed deeply, closed her eyes, and focused on drawing strength from the energetic well inside her. Once she felt calm, centered, safely held in the flow of the Universe she straightened her back, bent her knees into a deep squat to the left and fluidly whipped her arms from the right to the left, gathering all the water in the barrels to her right as she did so. She recentered, now entirely focused on the wall of water she was manipulating before repeating the gesture to the other side, gathering all the water from there as well. She didn’t move it yet though. She continued to hold it in front of her and felt its gentle pull. Then with a deep breath she rolled her arms back and down, crouching down low and putting all her energy into the pulling motion. She heard gasping around her as people felt all of their sweat fly from their bodies and into her water. With a final deep rock forward Katara sent the wall of water at the fire. She sent it low, hoping to extinguish the fire from its source. There was a loud hiss as the water hit the blaze. Steam filled the air. The fire had fallen back. It still wasn’t completely contained but it was close enough. It was no longer threatening any homes. The combined effort of Katara, Zuko, some soldiers and locals had managed to finally get the fire to a manageable size. Exhausted, Katara fell to the ground.

            Zuko came over to her, beaming. Even as exhausted as she was Katara was happy to see Zuko’s genuine joy. “You did it Katara! This fire should be completely out by tomorrow!”

            Katara laughed a little. “I’m looking forward to _not_ helping tonight.”

            Zuko’s smile did not fade. “You have more than earned your rest. Get on a cart and I will have you taken to the guest house. I’m going to stay and help finish this.” He gave her a formal bow. “The Fire Nation thanks you Katara.”

            Katara smiled at him. “You’re welcome Zuko. I mean Fire Lord Zuko.”

            Zuko laughed which surprised Katara a little. He was in a really good mood. “Just Zuko is just fine for an old friend.”

            Katara smiled. The future felt full of hope. If Zuko was happy and ready for a united world, anything was possible. As she climbed onto the cart that was going to take her home, Katara caught herself thinking, for perhaps the hundredth time that day _I wish Aang was here to see this_.

 

            Aang sat in the Jasmine Dragon and had a cup of his favorite tea for the second time in the day. It was a nice feeling. Aang had a feeling that simply putting Hiresh in jail wouldn’t fix the panic he had whipped up, but it was a good start. Now Aang just needed to wait and hope the fervor died out now that the leader was out of the picture.

            Bhadra and Girish, the two young Earth soldiers who had arrested Hiresh earlier sat with Aang at the table. They were politely listening to Iroh tell the story of his mismatched dishes. Iroh didn’t shed any tears this time, but Aang had a feeling he would shed some in private to make up for it.

            “You’re right sir. This shows just how ready the people are for a united world. People are realizing that these divisions are making us all weaker. It’s keeping us from caring about so many other people who could be in our lives. It’s sad that these radicals can’t see that,” Giresh replied surveying the dozen or so customers happily sipping tea in the shop.

            “You are young and stable, you are ready for a changing world. Do not forget how many people do not have such a firm foundation to rely on.”

            “You would think an earthbender like Hiresh would know a thing or two about foundation,” Bhadra joked.

            Iroh did not laugh. He looked contemplatively at his tea. “Some people are so wrapped up in their bending they forget that these principles must apply to their personal lives as well. You can move as many rocks as you want, but if you aren’t strong in yourself, you will never be a true bender, nor a happy person.”

            Everyone assembled nodded respectfully, knowing the wisdom of the comment.

            A young woman walked by and bumped into their table, making it wobble slightly. The table had been damaged in the attack and one leg had been replaced by a relatively sturdy board, but the balance was still quite fragile. The young woman blushed and bowed. “My apologies. I am so clumsy. Please know I meant know offense.”

            Iroh smiled at her. “Of course! This place is a little tricky to navigate these days. Don’t worry! Soon it will be all cleaned up and even more glorious than before!”

            The young woman smiled at Iroh. “I look forward it to sir.” She gave a final polite nod before walking away. Aang noticed that her gaze trailed behind her to Bhadra.

            “She didn’t bump the table on accident did she?”

            Bhadra awkwardly scratched his head and Girish let out a bark of laughter. “You are very observant Avatar Aang. That is one of Bhadra’s many…admirers.”

            Bhadra tried to look modest but he couldn’t stop a large smile from splitting his face. “What can I say, I have truly mastered the four elements.”

            All of the men around Aang laughed. Aang was confused. When they noticed he wasn’t laughing with him the laughter abruptly ceased. Bhadra straightened his posture and looked at Aang. “Pardon me Avatar, I meant no offense to your great mastery.”

            Aang waved the comment away. “No, no need to apologize. I just…don’t get it.”

            An awkward silence descended as everyone looked at the young Avatar. Aang felt himself blush and raised his teacup to his mouth, taking an extra long drink hoping to hide his face.

            Iroh smiled finally and let out a fatherly chuckle. “Ah, my friends, we have forgotten that our Avatar is a monk. I’m sure he has no need for conversations such as these.”

            Aang felt himself turn even redder as everyone looked at him with small smiles.

            “Forgive me my forwardness Avatar, but did your time in the monastery prepare you for the duties of the marriage bed,” Bhadra asked with a playfully conspiratorial air.

            Aang wanted shut down this conversation. He didn’t like the idea of people making fun of him and he _really_ didn’t like the idea of people thinking he couldn’t make love to his own wife. But…when would he have an opportunity to have such a conversation again. It’s not like he had many male friends besides Sokka who definitely not going to give him advice about to please his own sister. And Zuko…Zuko would probably jump off a cliff if Aang tried to have this conversation with him. And if Zuko didn’t then Aang definitely would.

            With a sigh Aang let his shoulders droop and looked down into his tea. “No, not really.”

            Aang heard someone snicker and he looked up to see everyone at the table grinning at him. A part of him wanted to be angry, how dare they make fun of him? But a larger part of him felt like they weren’t making fun of him at all. In fact they looked…excited?

            “What?”

            Bhadra sat up straight and adopted a serious expression. “Young Avatar, just as you have had masters teach you all four elements, it would be my honor to explain to you the secrets of the marriage bed.”

            Girish laughed. “Go on Master Bhadra. Share your wisdom with us.”

            Iroh smiled. “I’m afraid I am too old for this conversation. When you’re my age it’s not always pleasant being reminded of how many pleasures we have lost to the passage of time. I wish you all a pleasant night.” Grinning to himself Iroh left to go observe the game of Pai Sho that was being played in the corner.

            Aang was glad Iroh had left, he felt a little less awkward now that he was just with the soldiers who were closer to his age. Only a little though.

            “So…uh...what were you saying about the four elements earlier?”

            Bhadra went back into his teacher affectation again. “As you know, Avatar, there are lessons to be learned from each element and it is only in finding a balance between all of them that one can show true mastery.” Girish snickered again. Bhadra broke character to give a mischievous grin but then quickly picked his lesson back up.

            “First there is Earth. Earth is the foundation of all things. Without Earth there would be nothing to build on. Earth is about stability, trust, and not yielding. In order for sex to be enjoyable both parties need to feel safe with each other and grounded in the moment.” Bhadra flashed a grin again. “And in my experience, women are a fan of a man who is _unyielding_.” He said the word in a way that made it clear he was trying to make some sort of double entendre but Aang really did not understand.

            “Unyielding?” Aang asked. He was a little worried this was going down a bad path. After all it had been revealed that Bhadra had many…admirers. What if he was one of those men who didn’t respect women and forced them into sexual situations? The thought made Aang a little sick to his stomach.

            Bhadra must have picked up on Aang’s anxiety because he was quick to clarify. “Do not worry Avatar I do not mean force. Remember, Earth is about neutral jing. The point is not to advance when you are unwanted but to make your position very clear. Make it known that your desire is strong and stable and not going anywhere. In fact, say it, out loud. Tell her how much you want her, how you want her, and be firm that you are in control of your desire and you intend to direct it exactly the way its wanted when called upon.”

            Aang felt himself blushing again, but he liked where this conversation was going. He didn’t want to seem too eager, but he was legitimately excited to be learning. _Please tell me. I want to please Katara. I have to please Katara_.

 

 

            When Katara finally woke up it was the middle of the night. When she reached the guest house she had only had energy to bathe before going right to sleep, even though the sun was just beginning to set. Now she was finally rested and the moon was shining in her window. It was almost full and Katara felt replenished. She smelled like the lemongrass soap that Aang always used. She had stolen a small cake of his soap before he left so she could have the scent with her while he was away. Now, laying in the cool sheets she was glad she had her husband’s smell to keep her company. She wished he was there. She loved having him around, but she had to admit, there was something about the cool sheets and the slightly smoky breeze that she liked.

            It wasn’t that she didn’t miss Aang. That definitely wasn’t true. It would never be true, she knew this. It was just…refreshing to have a moment to herself. After their wedding Aang had become distracted. Sometimes she would catch him looking at her with an expression of crushing hopelessness that terrified her. She couldn’t help but fear that now that they were married, officially bound for life, Aang was having second thoughts. That he regretted never dating anyone else. Or maybe….Katara didn’t want to think about it but after many nights of Aang not looking at her after they made love Katara was terrified that she wasn’t satisfying him. She didn’t know what is was. Did he not like her body? Was she doing something wrong? He never said anything, and he seemed so focused, almost desperate every time he made love to her that Katara was terrified he was forcing himself to do it. A more rational part of her mind wondered if it wasn’t actually her, but simply Aang struggling with sex because of his upbringing in a monastery. No matter what it was, though, it scared Katara. She was even suspicious that he had intentionally sent her to the fire so he wouldn’t have to have be with her in Ba Sing Se. The idea hurt her. She did her best to push these suspicious thoughts out of her mind. _Aang just cares about people. He knew he couldn’t be in two places at once and trusts me enough to send me to help out. It’s not about me. Aang loves me. He is my husband and he is not trying to leave me. He will never leave me…I hope. Please, Aang. Don’t leave me._

 

“The second element is water. Water is all about receptivity, pleasure, and rhythm. You have to be receptive to your partner’s energy, not just for your pleasure, but also their pleasure. Pay attention to the way they are moving, the rhythm they are creating, the energy they are giving you. Listen to their needs and combine them with your own, so that your pleasures are in sync and where one is giving they are also receiving and vice versa.”

            Aang arched an eyebrow. “You sure know a lot about waterbending for an earthbender.”

            Girish laughed. “He didn’t get his master status by sheer talent. He has _studied_ this, trust me.”

            Bhadra punched his friend in the arm. “Well, maybe if you cared a little more you could finally get out of your amateur status.”

            Aang laughed. The longer this conversation lasted the less awkward he felt and the more included in their comradery. It was a nice feeling to feel included as an equal. One he hadn’t felt very often since he had found out he was the Avatar. He had forgotten how much he had missed it.

            “As I was saying, water is all about paying attention to the energy of you and your partner and how they are flowing together. It can’t be one sided, the pleasure needs to be joined. That way it’s easier to rise. Water might be the most important element for sex. After all it’s the building and then acceptance of pleasure is almost exactly like a wave. You have to let all the small waves accumulate into the big one and then let it take you away.”

 

            Lying alone in her bed in a foreign land missing her husband, Katara thought back on her conversation with Suki and Toph the last time she saw them. At the time she’d been embarrassed by what they were saying. She had never experienced what they were talking about at all, let alone by herself. She remembered being offended at first.

            “If Aang can’t make it happen, then I don’t see why I should even be trying. He is my husband! I can’t just…disrespect him like that.”

            Toph snorted. “Come on Sugar Queen. You can’t just put it all on Aang like that. It’s _your_ body after all, if you don’t understand it how the hell can you expect Aang to?”

            Suki nodded. “She’s right Katara. This is a two way street, if you don’t understand what you like and aren’t willing to open yourself up to pleasure then it’s never gonna happen.”

            “But…isn’t it betraying him…I feel like if he knew he would think it’s because he isn’t…enough for me. And that’s not true at all!”

            “And how do you think he feels now, when you are never finishing? Don’t you think he feels weird with you just laying there not doing any work?”

            Katara’s faced flamed in a blush. “I don’t just lay there! I do things!”

            “Oh really? What exactly do you do princess? Stare into his eyes and tell him you love him?”

            “Yes!”

            Toph and Suki both laughed at Katara’s indignation. “What, are you saying that’s wrong? I knew I shouldn’t be listening to you! What do you two know about this anyway?”

            “Calm down Katara, there is nothing wrong with that, but that’s not all there is. You can be so active and it will be so much better for both of you. When Aang sees how badly you want him, how much you are enjoying it, he might just go into the Avatar state.”

            This time even Katara laughed. “I hope not, I’m not sure I’d survive that.”

            “If it happens, send us a messenger hawk about it. I want to know _everything_.”

            They all laughed again.

            “Seriously Katara, next time you have some down time just try it! It will be way easier to figure out on your own, and when you do you’ll understand why we said you’ve been missing out for so long, and you won’t feel quite so shy for your poor husband anymore.”

            Katara groaned. “I wouldn’t even know how to begin.”

            “Just picture Aang is with you. That your hands are his hands and go from there.”

           

            Now that she was alone, miles away from her husband and feeling clean and comfortable and invigorated from the moonlight she finally felt ready to take their advice. She closed her eyes and pictured her husband. She imagined he was lying next to her, shirtless, his lean muscles visible in the moonlight. His blue tattoos almost glowing against his pale skin. She loved his tattoos, she wanted to run her tongue down their path over his body. Why had she never tried that?

            _Focus Katara_.

            Right, Aang. She imagined him kissing her. Running his hands through her hair. He always liked to play with her hair. She had a theory that it was because he had none that he was so infatuated with hers.

            She shook her hair out so it was loose on the pillow, the way Aang liked it. She felt a little silly putting her fingers in her hair but she did it anyway, squeezing her eyes shut even harder as if to somehow hide from her own embarrassment.

            In her mind Aang began to kiss down her neck. She loved it when he did that. Sometimes he would even bite her in his excitement and she loved that. Especially when he bit her earlobes. _I should have told him that_.

            Aang had moved to her collarbone and so had Katara’s hands. She gently traced the bone with her fingers, just tickling the area and she began to feel…something. _I think it’s working!_

            Aang removed her nightdress and her chest wrapping. His hands roughly found her breasts, massaging them both, then cupping one while it pinched the nipple of the other. Katara felt her nipples harden and involuntarily gasped a little when she rolled her left nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She imagined Aang’s mouth there, his tongue circling it before gently biting the hard peak. Katara realized her face was flushed. Her breathing was beginning to get a little shaky too.

            Keeping one hand massaging one breast her other hand followed Aang’s path down her body. He kissed down her stomach and sides as her hands ran across them, grabbing at the soft flesh occasionally. It felt special to be touched so much, even by herself. She wished it was really Aang’s hands exploring her body. She wished he was really above her so she could do the same to him, feel his stomach muscles, dig her fingernails into his back. She wanted to be all over him so that when they were through every inch of his body had a memory of her lingering, reminding him of her passion, her need for him.

            Aang spread her legs wide and Katara was unabashed about opening for him. She could feel the wetness eagerly awaiting him, inviting him to fill her. Katara wiggled out of her wrappings as quickly as possible, eager to let her fingers explore the areas hidden by her dark curls. She ran her fingers through them, the way her husband liked to do and felt incredibly sexy. Any feelings of ridiculousness or shame had completely disappeared. They had been replaced by excitement and desire. Katara let one finger slide into her silken slit. The whole area was wet with her excitement and her finger slide easily over her clit. She moaned a little when she felt it grazed, and brought her finger back to explore the spot. Aang had brushed it a few times before and each time she had enjoyed it, but he had never really done it on purpose or concentrated on the area. Tonight was her night to experiment with this spot.

            She added two more fingers to widen her surface area coverage and began gently pushing in the area of the slick mound. The more she did it, the better it felt. She adjusted herself to really focus on a pinpoint spot that was demanding to be touched. She had lost all focus, forgetting to picture herself or her husband or anything, just letting her body take control. She continued to rub the spot pushing her hand down and lifting her hips up to meet it in a rocking motion. Suddenly the pleasure began to expand, racing out from the spot all over her body, coursing through her in an explosion of bright white. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Her whole body succumbed to the intense pleasure and she felt lifted into a higher realm of physical existence. She had no idea her body could do that.

            Exhausted and a little mystified Katara lay on her back and remembered exactly where she was and what she had just done. She was excited to finally know how Aang felt when he slammed into her his final time as if unable to control his own body. In fact, she was surprised he _didn’t_ go into the Avatar State when he came. Katara felt like she might have just entered it herself.

           

            “So next is fire right?” Aang asked, excited for the lesson to continue.

            “That is correct Avatar” Bhadra responded in his teacher voice.

            “You really haven’t gotten tired of that shtick yet? Unbelievable,” Girish complained.

            “A true master never grows tired,” Bhadra responded with the same affectation.

            Girish groaned and rolled his eyes.

            “Let me guess, fire is all about passion and excitement. Losing control of energy and letting it consume you.”

            Girish was visibly trying to suppress a grin as he stared down into his tea. _What? Am I wrong?_

            Bhadra cleared his throat in a way that sounded a little too close to a laugh for Aang’s liking. “That is a mistake many young men make, Avatar, especially those with beautiful new wives.” Aang felt himself turn crimson. He must have just admitted way more than he realized.

            "You’re a firebender Aang, is firebending about losing control?”

            Aang rubbed the back of his neck. “No.” He took a deep breath trying to clear the embarrassment from his mind. “Firebending is about control. Control of the breath, control of the will, control of the fire.”

            Bhadra nodded, “Exactly! Fire is about self-control. It’s about being stronger than your desire so that you can use it more powerfully. When you are fully in control of yourself, that means you’re also fully aware of the other person and how they are responding to what’s going on. That way you can make sure you’re stoking their desire and not just succumbing to your needs.”

            Aang felt himself blush again as he remembered the conversation he’d overheard with Katara and her friends.

            _“I have to admit it’s not what I was expecting…I think it lived up to Aang’s expectations though.”_

            Aang’s thoughts were interrupted by the sounding of the tea shop door slamming open.

            “I told you! Hiresh was right! The Avatar is here! He is the one who got Hiresh arrested! It’s a conspiracy!”

            Aang groaned. _Not now_.

            A mob of angry people had swarmed into the tea shop. Thankfully, it wasn’t near as many people as had been in the crowd earlier in the day, but it was still over twenty people and they all looked angry.

            Aang leapt from his seat into the air, over his own table and onto the main counter of the tea shop.

            “You’re right, I am here and I did stop Hiresh.”

            “He admitted it!”

            “He’s unnatural!”

            “… _our way of life”_

A cacophony of voices went up, all talking at once fueled by this series of unexpected validations.

            Aang took a deep breath and blew out a giant gust of wind. It blew back people’s hair, knocked over tea cups, and sent a few startled people bumping into each other. Most importantly it made everyone quiet.

            “Listen to me. I heard what Hiresh was telling you and I know why you believe him. You are afraid. You love your home, your families, your folklore and your traditions. I know that and I think that’s a good thing. You should love those! They are important parts of your identity and your history and you shouldn’t let them be lost!”

            Aang paused to take a steadying breath. He had expected at least a little bit of reaction to that but everyone remained absolutely still, looking at him in stunned silence.

            “I am not asking you to give up on any of that. No one is. The merging of the nations is not about losing things we love from the old world, it’s about gaining even more things to love. I was an airbender long before I was a fully realized Avatar. I have not lost my abilities, nor my love for airbending because I learned other elements. In fact, the more I learned about all the elements, the stronger my airbending became. Your lives and your families and your culture is not going to be lost in this new world. It is not a war. We are not looking to destroy, but to combine and to strengthen. To learn about balance in our communities and our personal lives, and to protect each other as a collective.”

            Aang glanced over at Iroh who was standing behind the counter still holding a steaming pot of tea. He too was frozen, but Aang had a feeling it wasn’t with the same shock as the others. He was just assessing the situation as it unfolded.

            Aang nimbly hopped down from the counter and faced Iroh. “May I?” he asked, gesturing towards the steaming tea kettle. Iroh nodded and smiled knowingly, handing Aang the tea kettle. Aang hopped back up on the counter with the kettle in hand.

            “Hiresh is telling you that the four elements are separate. That it’s unnatural to combine them, but separation is the biggest lie of all. Think about something as simple and universal as tea. He calmly began to bend the steaming liquid up out of the kettle and into the air as he spoke.

            “This tea needs all four elements in order for it to exist. It needs Earth to grow the tea leaves and to make the mugs, water for the actual beverage, fire to heat it up,” suddenly Aang bent the small spiral of tea he had in front of him across the room and into all of the empty cups on the shelves in front of him. Everyone looked over at the dozen steaming cups of tea. Aang bent a small whirlwind and sent it spinning towards the shelf. With a satisfied grin he watched all the steam be blown away from the cups. “And air to cool it enough to drink!”

            Aang broke out into a big goofy smile. The people were still looking up at him quietly, all a little confused. Finally, someone laughed. People began to join in and before he knew it almost everyone in the tea shop was laughing, Iroh’s deep chuckles perhaps the loudest of them all. A few people still looked disgusted and stormed out angrily, but Aang ignored them. They were in a small minority. He couldn’t change everyone’s minds, but as long as he had the majority on his side, they could help him try or at the very least keep the others from escalating their views into actions.

            Iroh gestured over to the rows of hot tea cups. “Free tea for everyone!” A cheer went up. “Courtesy of the Avatar!” Another cheer went up and Aang looked at Iroh dumbfounded. Iroh just beamed at him as he went to help serve out the tea.

            Muttering to himself about how Iroh was a sneaky old man Aang returned to his previous spot at the table.

            “Well done Avatar!” Bhadra said with a smile and smacking him across the back jovially. Aang felt his breath get knocked out of him slightly from the blow. _I haven’t quite gotten used to earthbender affection yet._

            “That tea speech was pretty corny, I can’t believe so many people just went with it,” Girish teased.

            Before Aang could come up with a reply Iroh rushed over to their table. Tears were standing in his eyes. “I can’t believe you remembered my speech about tea! And did you see how it moved all those people? I’m telling you, tea can unite the world!”

            Aang laughed. “If any tea can it’s yours Iroh.”

            With a triumphant smile Iroh walked away to go make sure all of his new customers enjoyed their first visit to the Jasmine Dragon.

            “So Avatar, still want to finish our lesson?”

            Aang laughed and then gave a mock bow to Bhadra. “My apologies for the interruption Sifu Bhadra.”

            Bhadra smiled. “Last, but not least is air. You’re an airbender, tell me about airbending.”

            “Airbending is all about freedom. It’s all about letting go of the world and choosing to be mindful about other people and joyous in your studies.”

            Bhadra nodded. “You have to be free to have fun. To adapt to the situation as it changes and acknowledge that just because things aren’t exactly how you imagined it, doesn’t mean you’ve lost control or stopped being successful. It’s about not just accepting things as they come, but having a mindset of joy that extends to all the things that happen, expected or not. It’s about being playful and not taking everything so seriously.”

            Aang smiled. “Bhadra you are indeed a very wise master. Maybe you should have given a speech about the four elements instead of me.”

            Bhadra grinned. “Everyone can learn the secrets of tea but I only share my strategies with the ladies to a chosen few. Can’t lose my edge.”

            Girish rolled his eyes. “I really shouldn’t have let this conversation happen. It’s going to go to his head and he’s never going to shut up about his love making skills.”

            Bhadra beamed at him. “I mean I did teach the Avatar, if that’s not mastery I don’t know what is.”

            Everyone laughed. “Don’t worry Girish, he don’t be telling that to too many people.” Suddenly Aang’s expression changed, the mirth left his face and was replaced by a menacing and powerful countenance that the soldiers could hardly believe was the same silly young many who just gave a weird speech about tea to an angry mob. “Don’t forget I am still the Avatar. Hurting my reputation wouldn’t be good for you.”

            Bhadra cowered a little, but before he could regain his composure Aang was back to his goofy smile again. “I’m kidding. But for real, maybe don’t tell everyone you meet about this conversation? I wouldn’t want people getting the wrong idea about…you know.”

            Bhadra smiled. “Don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me Avatar.” He looked punched Girish in the shoulder. “Besides, the only person I need to rub it in to has been here the whole time.”   

            They all laughed again and Aang found himself missing his friends from the monastery again. This time though, the memory was pleasant not painful. He was grateful for the things he had experienced with them, but he was grateful for the things he was experiencing now too. _Besides, I definitely wouldn’t be having this conversation now if I was still living at one of the Temples._  

 

            Katara was so excited to see her husband she couldn’t be still. She had been fidgeting next to Zuko during their entire balloon ride to Ba Sing Se. It was taking everything in Zuko not to scream at her to be still. _I’m so glad Mai isn’t that high strung_.

            Finally they were landing. Not wanting to wait for the official exchange of pleasantries with the Earth officials Katara bolted off the balloon the second it reached the ground. “I’m just going to head over to the Jasmine Dragon and make sure everything’s ok! I’ll see you there!” She called behind her, already running to find a taxi.

            The ten minutes it took for Katara’s ride to take her to the Jasmine Dragon felt like an eternity. She kept tapping her foot and huffing as buildings rolled by her in what seemed like an indefinite blur. “Are you sure this is the fastest way?” she asked the driver.

            “Come on lady you’re the one trying to get to the other side of the ring. If you’re in a hurry you should have planned better.”

            Katara sighed. “Sorry. Sorry. Just checking is all.”

            Finally the cart pulled up in front of the familiar store front. Katara saw that the windows were tarped over and fear tightened in her chest. _I really hope Aang took care of everything_.

            Katara overpaid her driver, too impatient to wait for change and jumped down from the cart before it had completely stopped moving.

            “Thanks! Have a nice day!”   

            Katara missed the driver’s eye roll at her because she was already halfway through the shop door.

            She scanned the room. The building was more crowded than usual, and there were less tables so some people were standing in small groups or sitting on random places on the floor. Katara noticed that the left wall had been completely covered by a tarp and wondered how bad the damage was behind it. Her concerns weren’t really about the tea shop, however, so she didn’t notice the mismatched dishes and hastily repaired tables. All she wanted to see right now was her husband.

            She took a few steps further into the building, walking around a small group of people that had been standing and talking right in front of the door. There. Her eyes immediately caught sight of Aang’s orange robe and blue tattoos. He was sitting with his back towards her at a small table in the back of the tea shop. He was drinking tea with two young soldiers and they were all laughing.

            Katara let out a breath that she hadn’t realize she’d been holding the whole time she was in the building. She was so relieved to see him, perfectly safe and happy. She didn’t know why she was worried, she knew Aang would always come through.

            As she made her way to the back of the shop Katara’s relief was replaced with excitement. She felt almost giddy at the sight of him. They had only been separated for 5 days, but she had missed him the whole time. She loved that she got to spend all of her time with her favorite person in the world and this reunion was a perfect reminder of how lucky she was to have such joy in her life.

            She could feel a cheesy smile on her face as she approached the table but it didn’t bother her. One of the young Earth soldiers at the table caught sight of her approach and elbowed his friend to get his attention. The other looked over at her confused briefly, and then quickly realization spread over his features. He leaned over with a grin and said something to Aang.

           

            “Avatar, it’s a good thing our lesson has concluded in such a timely manner. There is a beautiful young woman here who looks _very_ excited to see you.”

            Aang was confused for only a moment, but when he saw Bhadra and Girish both look behind him with small grins he quickly spun around in his seat.

            _Katara_.

            There she was. His perfect, beautiful wife, safe from the fire and looking at him with all the love in the world. Aang jumped from his seat and landed in front of his wife. Without hesitation he took her into his arms and began to spin her around.

            She laughed and the sound made him eve happier. “I missed you too,” she said playfully mid spin.

            Aang set her down and looked down into her face, beaming at her, he was so excited to have her back. So excited that she was excited. In that moment Aang finally felt his fear of being a failure of a husband slip away. He knew he wasn’t perfect, that things weren’t perfect, and that they might never be, but that didn’t mean he wanted to give up. He wanted to keep learning and keep working to be better for the woman he loved, and he knew that even though he might disappoint her occasionally, no one would ever love his wife as much as he did and that was something he could rely on.

 

            Katara was surprised at the way her body reacted to seeing her husband’s excitement. The look that he had given her before, the one that was full of fear and sadness was nowhere to be seen, not even for an instant. The second he saw her he had lit up and Katara was thrilled. Maybe she had imagined it. Maybe it was just her own insecurities. Katara couldn’t be sure but in that moment it didn’t matter, all she cared about was that her husband was thrilled to see her.

            “You’re here already! You must have really made short work of that fire. I knew you’d be perfect for the job!” Aang exclaimed excitedly, his hands were still holding her shoulders and he was looking down into her face.

            Katara was surprised to find herself blushing and the praise and the direct eye contact. She felt something deep in her stomach flip inside of her that then sent a rush of excitement coursing down between her legs. She blushed even harder when she felt her desire that had come so unbidden. “What about you?” she said breaking eye contact and looking at the floor. _Why I am nervous all of a sudden? He’s my husband for Spirit’s Sake!_

            She looked back up at him, “What’s happened with the Earth Nationalists? Have they escalated at all?”

            Aang scoffed and waved his hand as if brushing her concerns away. “They’re taken care of, they just needed a little lesson on tea.”

            Katara was puzzled. “Huh?”

            Aang grinned, “I’ll explain later, come meet my new friends!” He grabbed her by the hand and quickly pulled her over to the table he has just left.

            “Katara, this is Girish,” he said gesturing to a young blonde man with a thick beard on his right. “And this is Bhadra.” This time he gestured to a clean shaven man with high cheekbones and long black hair that was secured loosely in a bun at the nape of his neck.

            “It’s nice to meet you Katara” Bhadra said giving a small bow from his seat.

            Girish bowed as well. When he sat back up he was grinning. “Yes, your husband has had so much to say about you, it’s nice to put a face to the name.”

            Katara heard a strange sound beneath the table and saw Girish jerk and then wince in pain. She looked over at her husband who was looking in the opposite direction and rubbing the back of his neck. A sure sign that he had just done something.

            “All good things I hope,” Katara said a little more nervous than she wanted to let on.

            The two young soldiers smiled broadly. “Very good things, I assure you.”

            Bhadra nodded his agreement and then leaned forward in a gesture of false secrecy. “I think the young man is a little obsessed with you.”

            Aang flushed and this time Katara noticed him try to bend a small piece of earth beneath the table into dropping on Bhadra’s foot, but the young earthbender was prepared and easily dodged the attempt.

            Katara laughed. “That’s good because I’m a little obsessed with him too.”

 

            They stayed at the tea shop until it closed. A frustrated Zuko had joined them about half an hour after Katara had arrived. When she had gone to apologize for leaving him so abruptly he just held up a palm to signal both his forgiveness and his desire for her to finally be quiet. Although a little offended Katara had backed away without saying anything else. She realized that she had not exactly been a good travel companion, particular for someone as easily ruffled by other people’s emotions as Zuko. Some time in the back with his Uncle Iroh, however, managed to put Zuko back into a good enough mood to be social and both of the firebenders had joined the newlyweds and their new Earth soldier friends.

            When the shop was finally empty Katara and Aang stayed behind to help Zuko and Iroh clean up and close for the night.

            “In retrospect, maybe I should have gone with a more subtle mural design. I guess I forgot that some people are still touchy about the firebender thing,” Zuko commented, looking forlornly at the tarp covered wall.

            “What are you talking about Nephew? Everyone loved the mural! In fact, I would have people come in just to look at it. They’d stay for a cup of tea of course, because who can resist the smell of fresh brewed tea, but still they’d come initially for the mural!”

            Zuko smiled to himself even though he had a feeling his uncle was exaggerating for his own benefit. Iroh was kind like that, always taking other people’s feelings into consideration. Zuko wished he didn’t have quite so many feelings for his uncle to constantly have to tiptoe around, but it meant a lot to him that his uncle was still willing to do it.

            “I have an idea for a new mural,” Zuko said, a little excited. People were always surprised to find out Zuko was quite creative. Zuko had been surprised to find it out, quite frankly, but even with the demanding schedule of being Firelord, developing a plan to form Republic City, and attending to his wife, his new way of life, no longer fueled by obsession and rage, gave him much needed time for introspection. He found that thinking creatively, thinking about artistic things was something that he not only enjoyed immensely but that he was quite good at. His actual artistic skills were…lacking to say the least, so he only practiced those in private, burning most of the works so no one would ever see them and hold them against him. He kept a few, however. A sketch of his wife’s profile. A black heart lit by a small blue flame. And one of his favorites, a perfect mural concept.

            “A dragon drinking tea!”

            Everyone looked at him a little blankly. Their lack of reaction made him nervous.

            “Wait! I didn’t explain it well! It’s not just any dragon. It’s…” he let out a steadying breath to keep him from panicking. _I know this is a good idea_. “It’s a big white dragon, curled up against a tree. He looks comfortable and happy and you can tell he’s been there for a while because moss and little plants have grown on his back and head.” He felt himself losing steam again, but he was too dep into it to stop now. “And uh…there’s a little boy. He’s in front of the dragon and holding a cup of tea and reaching up to…hand it…to the dragon.” He trailed off, feeling humiliated. _Why did I tell them that? It’s childish and idiotic._

            Zuko finally looked back at the others who still had not said a word. To his surprise, his Uncle Iroh had tears in his eyes.

            Iroh sniffed dramatically and wiped his face with his sleeve.

            “Nephew, that is beautiful. It will be a perfect new mural.”

            Zuko blushed a little and glanced over at Aang and Katara sheepishly. Aang had his arm around Katara’s waist and he looked happy and completely comfortable. Contented. “That sounds like a great idea Zuko! I’m sure people will be coming in to see that mural too!”

            Katara smiled at Zuko mischievously. “I didn’t realize sentimentality ran in your family Zuko.”

            A little relieved Zuko let out a genuine laugh. “If there’s any trait in my family I have to accept, sentimentality is definitely my best option.”

           

            Aang kept his arm around Katara for the entire walk to the small house they maintained a few blocks away from the Jasmine Dragon. Things finally felt right in the world with her back in his arms. He had missed her the past few days when she was away but he knew that wasn’t the real issue, the real reason he was so relieved and elated to finally be close to her again. The small wedge of fear that had been growing between them was finally gone again. His fears that he had failed her as a husband no longer felt quite so overwhelming. He didn’t like to admit it, but he knew he was going to make mistakes, probably a lot of them over the course of his life and their marriage. But he also knew that he wasn’t a child anymore, he didn’t have to run from his mistakes. He was a grown man, a fully realized Avatar, a husband. He had thought that once those things about him were true he would finally feel unshakeable, unafraid, unconflicted, always sure of himself and the best path. He realized now, that he was never going to feel that way. He was always going to want to run away and be disappointed in himself if he thought he wasn’t allowed to be unsure, or unafraid, or imperfect. He had to accept that he was always going to be all of those things, and it wouldn’t threaten any of the things he cared about. In fact, admitting his all of this would be the first step to remedying it.

            It was with that thought in mind that he followed Katara to their bedroom. He took a deep breath as he watched her light a couple candles on the night table in slow languid movements that Aang assumed meant she was content and sleepy.

            “Katara… I have something I need to talk to you about, that I should have brought up with you weeks ago.”

            Katara froze mid-movement, paralyzed by his words.

            Realizing how ominous that must have sounded to her Aang got flustered and began trying to explain. “It’s nothing bad I promise! Well, it’s not good…but it’s not a big deal. I mean it is a big deal…otherwise why would I have to talk to you about it?” He groaned and slapped his forehead. He hated it when he started babbling, but it was a habit he couldn’t seem to shake.

            He took another calming breath and focused on his words. “What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have anything to be worried about.” He looked over at Katara who was standing on the side of the bed still looking at him with visible fear that broke his heart. He hated the idea that he was scaring her.

            “You see, after our wedding, when we spent the week in the South Pole with everyone, I kinda overhead a conversation you had with Toph and Suki.” Aang flushed and looked at the floor ashamed to admit he had been eavesdropping.

            “You were talking about our…um…sex life. And they were asking if you had…well…you know.” He groaned inwardly. If he couldn’t even talk to his wife about her own pleasure how in the world was he going to fix the problem?

            With a newfound resolve Aang continued. “They had asked if you had had an orgasm with me yet and you said you hadn’t. I don’t know why but that freaked me out…like a lot. It made me feel young and unexperienced. Especially because I hadn’t even thought to ask you myself. I felt like I had let you down, that I wasn’t good enough for you, that I never would be.” Aang sighed as tears welled in his eyes. “Katara you are the most important part of my life. I have known I wanted to marry you since I was 12 years old. I thought that once I did, everything would be fixed and I wouldn’t ever have to feel like a failure or…unable to handle things again.  I thought that by having you as my wife I’d finally be sure of myself and not mess things up anymore.”

He looked over at Katara and saw tears were streaming down her face. She was still frozen in the same position as earlier, her fears apparently not yet abated.

            “I realize now that it’s not that easy. I’m always going to be scared and unsure. I’m not going to be perfect at everything or the best at everything. I wish I could be, for your sake. I wish I could be perfect, but I’m not and I never will be.” Aang looked directly into Katara’s blue eyes which were swimming with tears that occasionally fell down onto her cheeks.

            He took a few steps, closing the distance between them and looked down into her face. He gently brushed a tear off her face. “Katara, I’m never going to be the perfect husband, but I promise you I am never going to stop trying. I am going to learn from every mistake and always work to be better, to be the husband you deserve. I’m sorry it took me so long to talk to you about this, but I promise I won’t keep you in the dark next time I am scared.”

            Aang reached out and pulled Katara to him. At first she remained rigid, still frozen, but after a few seconds with his arms around her she melted into him, burying her face into his chest and reaching around him and clinging to him tightly. She sobbed into his robes and Aang held her tight, running a comforting hand over her back.

            When Katara’s sobs had stopped and her breathing had become even again she finally pulled away from Aang. She looked up into his face. There was clearly something still bothering her that she needed to say and Aang felt his chest constrict. He had a sudden fear that she was going to say that his apologies weren’t good enough, he had failed her, she deserved better than someone who struggled so much all the time. He felt his body involuntarily tense, preparing for the blow of her words.

            “So…you don’t want to leave me right?” she asked, tears pooling in her eyes again as she spoke.

            The tension in Aang’s body fell away immediately and he felt almost limp with shock. “Leave you? Of course not! Of course I don’t want to leave you! You’re my forever girl Katara, I’ve been telling you this for years! Why would you think that would change?”

            A few tears slipped from her eyes and Katara looked down at the floor before she spoke again. “Well…I noticed that things were different after our marriage. You wouldn’t look at me after we made love and…I thought it was me. I thought maybe I’d disappointed you. Or that you regretted not dating around more and ending up trapped with me forever.” She looked up at him again. The complete shock and horror on his face emboldened her a little. “Or that since you’re a monk…you were disgusted by the whole thing. That you had to fight yourself in order to sleep with me at all and that you hated it.”

            Aang couldn’t help himself, he burst out laughing. Katara scowled up at him, knitting her eyebrows and wrinkling her nose, his favorite angry facial expression of hers. He knew he needed to stop but he just couldn’t, the whole thing was so absurd.

            “I’m sorry” he managed to get out between burst of laughter. “I’m not laughing at you.” The giddiness was still threatening to overcome him but Aang managed to stifle it and get back to speaking. “Did you really think I hate having sex with you? I can’t keep my hands off of you! It’s all I think about! If it was up to me you’d be naked all the time!”

            Katara blushed and smiled her embarrassed smile and Aang felt like a little kid again. She could do that to him so easily, reduce him to just a confused kid with an overwhelming crush on a girl that was way _way_ out of his league.

            “I got worried. I didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t know if it was me. I felt embarrassed and guilty about the whole thing. I kept holding myself back whenever I wanted you or even in the moment because I was afraid you would be…disgusted if I showed you how much I want you.” She looked down again. “I was ashamed of just how badly I desired you. I don’t know why I thought so, but I thought it wasn’t right for a woman to feel and show pleasure, so I tried to fight it. It wasn’t until that conversation with Toph and Suki that I realized maybe I was wrong.” She looked her husband in his eyes again. “I’m so sorry that conversation upset you. I wish I had known.”

            She pulled at her hair, a nervous tick that didn’t show up often. _There’s something else_.

            “Aang?” she said his name with a shyness he wasn’t expecting.

            “What is it baby?”

            “How much of that conversation did you hear? I mean…did you hear the part about…um…individual gratification.”

            Aang felt himself blush. “No, I did not.” He felt a goofy grin come over his face. “I guess I should have eavesdropped for a little longer, I think I missed the interesting part.”

            His comment worked, Katara laughed and the tension between them broke. Smiling Aang sat down on the bed and gently airbent a gust of wind that blew Katara onto his lap.

            “So, fill me in on what I missed.”

            Katara smiled and leaned up and kissed him. Aang felt her wrap her arms around his neck and push her body up against his. Her strong arms gently pulled down and he acquiesced, leaning into her and holding her back. She sucked on his bottom lip and let out a gentle moan. Aang felt his blood rushing towards his groin and his grip around her tightened, he wanted her even closer. She pulled back then, breaking the kiss and looking in his eyes. “Hold on a second, I thought you wanted me to fill you in.”

            Aang used the space between them to shift her onto her back, gently but firmly laying her down beneath him. He began planting kisses on the side of her neck and up her jaw. He gently sucked on her earlobe and then said in a husky whisper beside her ear, close enough for her to feel his warm breath, “Another time. I have something to fill you in on too, and it’s urgent.”

           

            Katara’s world was suddenly reduced to desire. Her desire for her husband, and perhaps more important his desire for her. His whisper in her ear had filled her world, her body, with his yearning for her. Katara felt herself release any and all concern that her husband did not want her. She could feel his energy, his need all around her. He kissed her roughly, leaning the weight of his body onto hers as he sucked on her bottom lip. She gasped involuntarily when one of his legs came between hers, pushing them apart and making room for him in between.

            He wanted her so badly. It only made her want him even more. She began to tug at his robes, pulling them off and throwing it to the side, revealing her husband’s bare chest. Feeling empowered, and desperately wanting to claim her husband’s body Katara pushed Aang off of her. He looked briefly dazed and she smiled to herself, loving the control she had over him. She pushed him down gently onto his back and straddled his hips. Aang looked up at her expectantly, clearly not sure what her plan was. She smiled at him wickedly and took one of his hands between both of hers.

            “Have I ever told you how much I love your tattoos?” she asked, gently tracing the arrow on the back of his palm with one finger. Aang smiled at her, loving the attention she was giving to him and his body, but Katara wanted to make it clear that this was more than romantic waxing on about the perfection of her partner. She could do that any time. Tonight was about showing him that she loved his body in a sexual way, that she wanted to have a claim on his body as much as he did with hers. She looked her husband directly in his eyes as she brought his hand up to her mouth and wrapped her lips around one of his fingers. She slid her wet mouth to just below the second knuckle and then sucked on it, gently wiggling the tip of her tongue simultaneously. She watched as Aang’s facial expression turned from playful to intoxicatingly aroused.

            Katara loved when he looked at her that way. Katara freed Aang’s finger and moved his hand to her breast. Aang happily complied and roughly squeezed it, eliciting a small moan from Katara that clearly pleased him. _It’s still my turn_.

            Katara leaned down and kissed her husband. Slowly and sensually, teasing his tongue with hers, sucking on his lips gently and pulling away whenever he tried to intensify the kiss. She gently bit his tongue when he tried to put it in her mouth and then pulled away to kiss along his jaw. Clearly frustrated Katara felt Aang reach one hand into the back of her hair, tangling itself deep in her thick brown waves. Katara moved her kisses down Aang’s jaw to his ear, sucking on his earlobe the way he sometimes did to her. Aang let out a low moan and Katara grinned to herself. She then began to kiss down his neck, pausing to suck on his collarbone. When she pulled away there was a small red mark where her mouth had been and she loved it. She loved seeing evidence of herself on her husband’s body. She continued her quest down her husband’s bare chest, focusing her energies on the center line of his body, biting and sucking hard between gently kisses, and long strokes of her tongue. A trail of reddish purple marks was left down his body which satisfied Katara.

            When she reached his lower stomach, Katara ran her tongue along the line of his pants, tracing it slowly and allowing her body to gently brush across his erection as she did so. Aang moaned again and shifted beneath her, his hips rising towards her involuntarily. Aang’s face was red and his eyes were squeezed shut as if he couldn’t bear this pleasure for much longer. Katara ran her hands back up his body and looked down into his face. “Open your eyes.”

            A little surprised Aang opened his eyes and looked back into hers. Aang looked awed, as if he could not believe what was happening to him, what he was seeing. Katara stared into his wide gray eyes. “I want you to see me Aang.” She put a hand on his face, gently resting her palm against his cheek. “Look at me. I want you to look at me the way I want to look at you.”

            Aang reached up then and pulled her to him, kissing her passionately as he sat up so they were face to face, her still straddling his lap. He pulled off Katara’s top, revealing her chest wrapping. Her nipples were already hard and could be seen straining against the material. He ran his hand over one and Katara inhaled sharply. Aang looked her in the eye and smiled wickedly. “These are getting in the way of your instructions.” Then without further comment Aang firebent a small flame at the end of a finger and dragged it between Katara’s breasts, burning off the wrappings down the middle. Katara watched her wrappings fall away and felt her heart racing. Aang did not hesitate to cover one of her bare breasts with his hand, squeezing and kneading the tender flesh while he kissed her again.

            Without warning Aang gently pushed Katara down onto her back beneath him again. He quickly moved to her bare breasts, taking one hard nipple into his mouth and sucking on it hard. Then he carefully circled the raised peak with his tongue, before gently biting it as a parting gift, only to repeat the same thing on the other side. Katara wriggled beneath him. Everything he was doing felt so good, she didn’t want the moment to end, didn’t want to rush the process, but she desperately wanted to feel him inside of her.

            As if he could read her mind Aang pulled away and began to remove his pants and unerwrappings. Katara did the same, wriggling out of her skirt beneath him. Her underwrappings were on tight and before she could get out of them Aang tore them down the middle. The sound of ripping fabric and the sight of her husband literally tearing the clothes from her body sent another rush of wetness into her already dripping core.

            Underwrappings disposed of Aang pushed Katara’s legs apart. She could see his entire body now. His cock was rock hard and looked almost painfully swollen between his legs. Katara reached down to guide it into her, but Aang gently moved her hand away. Katara was a little surprised. Aang began to explore between her legs with his hand, sliding two fingers inside of her and then curving his hand so his palm pressed against her clit. He then began to rhythmically slide his fingers in and out of her, pressing his palm against her clit every time his fingers slide out. It felt amazing and Katara began to rock her body in a matching rhythm, forcing his fingers deeper inside of her, and pressing her clitoris even more firmly against his palm.

            “Katara open your eyes,” she heard her husband say in a commanding tone that was unfamiliar. Her eyes flew open, she hadn’t even realized she’d closed them. He had not stopped, not even paused in his gesture, the rhythm remained unbroken and the authority which he handled her body was only intensified as he made eye contact with her. She locked eyes with him, his eyes were steel like and his intensity unwavering. There was not a hint of embarrassment in his gaze, only a steady authority.

            “I want you to look at me when you come for the first time,” he said with the same rock solid tone. Katara felt her breath catch in her throat at such a frank command coming from her husband, the playful monk. This complete change in his demeanor was intoxicating. She felt sexy and safe and respected. Her pleasure felt important and she felt herself fully letting go and allowing the pleasant sensations in her body to run free. Still staring into her husband’s eyes Katara felt the wave of her orgasm begin. “Spirits. Aang. Don’t stop. I’m.” She arched her back involuntarily as her body was flooded from the inside with an intense screeching pleasure that shot up and out in all directions and felt like bright red and yellow lights chasing through her body. “Spirits. I’m coming. I’m coming. Aang, I’m coming!” she repeated herself, unsure of what to say but needing to call out something.

            Finally the feeling ran its course and she felt her body go a little slack with exhaustion. Aang removed his hand from inside of her and he smiled at her. The smile was warm and loving, but still controlled, not the goofy grin she was so used to.

            He leaned down and kissed her, slow and deep and she wrapped her arms around his neck and let herself fully surrender to his kiss.

            “I love you so much,” she said looking into his eyes when he finally pulled away.

            He smiled again, and leaned down and kissed her again. “I love you too.”

           

            Aang had entered into a new version of reality that was defined by its contradictions. He felt overwhelmed by desire for his gorgeous wife and her perfect body. Her full breasts with their inviting hard nipples, yearning for his touch. The curves of her body that alternated between a feminine softness and a muscular strength. Her wild brown hair that cascaded around her face and framed her body in a way that was tangled and unruly and yet somehow aesthetically more perfect than he could have imagined, as if there was some higher order to the chaos of her undoing. She was revealed even more perfect that he thought possible as he watched his wife completely let herself succumb to her pleasure. In that moment she was let loose, the moment completely out of her control, her body simply answering to its own desire, a desire for him and stoked by him and his ability to interpret this new language of bodily need. The perfection and chaos of her rocking hips, arching back, ragged breath it was all too much. Too beautiful. Aang felt lost in the passion.            

            Except he was not lost at all. His desire, although it raged around and within him in ways he could not believe, was still fully under his control. His every movement was intentional, responding to the subtle changes in Katara’s need and his own. Aang felt surprisingly sure of himself in the moment, even though he still really was not quite sure what he was doing, but he was willing to try, to keep experimenting and listening until things just…fit. And it was working.

            When Katara climaxed for him for the first time Aang felt a release of elation within himself that almost matched her orgasm. He was thrilled to have listened to her body so well. Moved that she trusted him enough to let herself go fully in the moment. Intoxicated by her pleasure filled words that burst into the room and into Aang’s own body simultaneously, grabbing hold of the desire deep within his belly and twisting it. When she called his name Aang felt his already rock hard member pulse as more blood rushed to it.

            Aang was overcome with love and desire for his perfect wife, and although his body was more than ready to experience its own release, he knew it was not time yet. It was time to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world. He kissed her with the same intentionality he had been doing everything, with a clear stance in mind that he was trying to convey. _I love you. You’re gorgeous. You’re mine. I’m yours. Forever._

            The words coursed through his body and permeated his entire being. His lips deftly translated the feelings in their own instinctive way against Katara’s. He pulled away almost intoxicated with the depth of his feelings for her. Then, as if responding to his energetic message, Katara fixed her eyes on him, and the fear and the hurt, the disappointment and sadness he saw earlier was gone completely. All he saw was love, perhaps a little awe. A reflection of his own feelings.

            “I love you so much.”

            Joy radiated through Aang’s body and he smiled. “I love you too.”

            Aang kissed Katara again, but this time he had another motive in mind. He needed release. He wanted to feel her against him, around him, beneath him.  As he kissed her he pressed himself against her thigh, letting out a small groan as his swollen flesh finally received some of the attention it had been throbbing for.

            Katara grinned wickedly at this reminder of her husband’s desire. “Need something Avatar?” Her hand deftly moved between their bodies and around Aang's throbbing erection. 

            “Just trying to restore balance to the world,” he managed to joke, but his voice came out more husky and strained than playful and airy. It only fueled Katara’s playfulness even more.

            “Have I gotten you off balance Avatar Aang? I assure you I meant no offense. Is there anything I could do to help?” The hand was still exploring as she spoke, accentuating her feigned innocence by firmly wrapping itself around Aang’s engorged shaft and beginning to slowly stroke up and down.

            This time Aang startled even himself by letting out something between a growl and a shout. _That’s enough of that_.

            Aang firmly grabbed Katara’s wrist and took her hand away from him, positioned himself between her legs, grabbing her other wrist and then pinning both firmly above her head.

            He moved his hips closer to hers and looked her in the eye as he took his member in his one free hand and ran it up and down the still wet and tender area between her legs. Katara let out a ragged breath, clearly excited again by this new development.

            “May I?” he asked, still making eye contact, his shaft now poised ready to slide into her at a moment’s notice. He could feel her warmth and wetness against the head of his cock and it felt like heaven. He wanted to bury himself inside of her, but he wanted to keep control, to keep listening to Katara and her body. This moment was not purely about him, just as the last was not purely about Katara. They were both participating and curating each other’s pleasure.

            His question seemed to ignite something in Katara because her voice was low and urgent. “Please. Yes. Do it.”

            No further encouragement needed Aang pushed himself inside of her. He heard Katara let out a deep moan when his hard length slid all the way inside of her. She was incredibly wet and the warmth of her body around him felt like pure bliss. His control was lost as he began to thrust in and out of her. The pace was a little fast, but very even, and Katara began to moan in time with each thrust. Aang heard himself letting out his own gruff exclamations as he continued his rhythmic pounding. The tight warmth of Katara’s body and the little cries of excitement she was letting out became too much. Aang felt himself thrust even harder and faster now, trying to bury himself deep within her as he felt his cock swell and twitch and finally he was rocked with his own orgasm. He felt himself release deep inside Katara and all the energy in his body drained out of him as he succumbed to the release of pleasure.

            Satiated and exhausted Aang let himself collapse and lay on top of Katara. He let out a sigh of bemusement and exhaustion as he arranged himself so he was resting his head next to hers, their cheeks touching. He was still inside her, not yet ready to give up that perfect joining of their bodies.

            “That…was amazing,” Katara said, her exhaustion turning her a little giddy as she too came down from the heightened experience they had just shared.

            Aang just smiled to himself, a little too tired to come up with anything to say. Katara shifted him off her and although her let out a small groan he acquiesced and rolled to the side, lying beside and immediately reaching over to pull her as close as possible. He still craved her body against his. They lay like this in contented silence. The world felt still and peaceful and hopeful and Aang felt an overwhelming gratitude that this was his life. He began to drift off to sleep.

            “Aang?”

            “Hmm?”

            “Do you think there’s any way that could get any better?”

            Aang felt himself get a little irked. “Better? Was that not good enough for you?” he asked, honestly exasperated at his apparent complete misread of the situation.         

            Katara laughed at his defensiveness. “No. No. That’s not what I meant. I _loved_ it. I meant could it be better for you. Like do you think it could be more intense?”

            Aang looked at her confused. “Why? Are you trying to kill me?”

            Katara shook her head and looked at him playfully. “No, just trying to send you into the Avatar State.”

            For a moment Aang was left in a stupefied shock, her comment having come from complete left field. Quickly though he began to laugh and the two of them dissolved into half hysterical giggles.

            “Why on earth would you want to send me into the Avatar state during sex?”

            Katara shrugged. “Suki and Toph are curious.”

            Aang laughed again, but this time he pulled his wife to him, arranging them so they were face to face.

            “I love you Katara. I love making love to you. I love that it’s one thing that can be just ours, that I only share with you. It means the world to me. You know that right?”

            Katara blushed a little as she looked into his eyes. “I know Aang. And you know I feel the same way. I was just teasing about Suki and Toph. This about you and me, and that’s amazing.”

            Aang grinned. “Good. I’m glad we are on the same page. So if I do go into the Avatar State during sex we are definitely telling everyone.”

            Katara let out a belly laugh and wrapped her hands around her husband, pressing their still naked bodies even closer together.

            “I’ll let you help write the message before I put it on the hawks.”

            Aang nodded in false gravity. “Excellent. Remind me to buy a thesaurus and look up synonyms to impressive and all powerful.”

            They laughed again. A pleasant stillness descended then as they both became aware of their now calm and lazily intertwined bodies in the dark quiet room. It felt like they were the only people in the world in that moment. Or that everyone in the world was just as happy and just as in love and somehow contributing to the moment with their own still joy. Perhaps both.

            “Perfect.” Katara said gently. “A good synonym would be perfect.”

            Aang kissed her gently on the forehead. “Let’s save that word for just us.”

            Katara nodded gently rested her head against his shoulder, finally closing her eyes to rest. Aang laid back and closed his eyes himself, letting himself be in the moment as much as he could as he drifted off to sleep.

            The two of them were united with a dreamy sleepy mantra that flowed gently between them, wrapping them up together in its sweet whisper. _Perfect. Perfect. Perfect._

           

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who is familiar with the comics, I apologize that this piece is not really in dialogue with that plot. I'm not familiar with it so I just tried to keep things vague and minor to avoid accidentally changing any huge plot points. I would love to write a prequel about Aang and Katara's wedding and the incident that triggered Aang's freak out. If that ever happens I will update these notes. I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


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